This invention relates to a cover for an ironing board or pressing machine including a skid-resistant material which provides frictional force between the cover and the articles to-be-ironed, thereby preventing the articles from sliding on the ironing surface.
During the ironing process, whether domestic, commercial or industrial, considerable difficulty may be encountered when more than half of the article being ironed extends over the edge of the ironing board. Since the conventional board cover is typically composed of a relatively slick woven textile, the force of gravity tends to pull the article off the board onto the floor. To prevent the garment from falling, the ironer must keep one hand on the article as a restraint to fix its position on the board. Ironing becomes awkward, time consuming and subject to repeated dropping mishaps.
After one or more ironing strokes, the ironer may temporarily place the iron, sole plate down, on the ironing surface aside the article being ironed, usually near the heel or untapered end of the ironing board. The iron may rest in this location while the ironer shifts, folds, hangs or replaces the article ironed. Any contact or bump to the ironing board may cause the iron to slide off the board, inasmuch as the sole plate of the iron is ultra smooth and polished, and the conventional ironing board cover is a woven textile material with minimal or no surface traction.
Generally, ironing board covers are made from coated cotton or other textile materials, or partially or entirely of man-made fibers. The typical ironing surface is slippery, affording little or no friction between the cover and the clothes being ironed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,049,826 pertains to an ironing board cover formed from an asbestos-impregnated woven textile.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,148,467 discloses a cover of glass cloth, cotton, cotton with a silicone covering, or cotton with a plastic coating.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,995 discloses an ironing board cover having a central ironing panel of silicone rubber-impregnated woven glass fabric. Such a composition is insufficient to impart the necessary frictional force between the articles being ironed and the ironing board surface to prevent sliding of the articles.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,724 discloses an ironing board pad having a cover comprising a stretchable heat-resistant knit material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,603 discloses a fabric ironing board cover having a plurality of closely-spaced apertures. The apertures have the effect of roughening the ironing surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,062 discloses an ironing pad for table-top use. A skid resistant coating is included on the underside of the pad, but not on the ironing surface. U.S. Pat. No. 4,360,984 discloses a similar table-top ironing pad having a cotton cover coated with a synthetic resin, but the resin is intended to improve heat resistance and minimize, rather than maximize, friction between the ironed aritcles and the pad.
These prior art ironing board covers are ineffective in preventing slippage of articles being ironed from the ironing board surface under the action of gravity. What is needed is a non-skid cover which is stable at ironing temperatures, easy to manufacture, and which provides a high degree of frictional contact with articles being ironed.